The Dead and the Gone
by elsp
Summary: A story of a girl named Amber and her siblings trying to make it in a post apocalyptic zombie world.


Chapter 1

That day started like any other Tuesday. I got up at 7:25, and was five minutes away from missing the bus. I struggled to do Physics homework while scarfing down cereal. I hopped on the bus, right before it left. Thats the way it always is, lets just say I don't exactly love school.

I thought that it would continue being a normal Tuesday but it was the day where everything fell apart. It was exactly 11:37 when everything crashed down, at least in Gullery Heights High-school. I was in Geometry class taking notes on circles when the door opened and there stood the first walker I had ever seen. Actually, I wasn't sure where I picked that term up but everyone used it. The worst part is, I recognized her. She was my French teacher, Mrs. Frances. Her eyes were the color of blood and looked strangely lifeless. Her back was hunched and her fingernails had grown into three inch claws. Her hands swayed at her sides and she looked both ways with a crazed look on her face. A few people started crying and screaming while others laughed, thinking it was a practical joke. I didn't know what the hell was going on, all I knew was that I had to get out of there. I grabbed my backpack and made my way to the back of the room. Mrs. Frances lunged at my Geometry teacher and broke his neck. I was scared shitless, but that didn't stop me from functioning. I grabbed a chair and broke it through the glass of the window. Mrs. Frances had moved onto Harry Browning. I stepped out of the broken window and onto the damp grass. A shrapnel of glass scraped the back of my thigh and it started bleeding, and I mean bleeding. I looked around. There didn't seem to be any other walkers. I was in the back courtyard of the school, facing the baseball diamond. I made a quick break for the woods, all the while calculating my route home when a thought hit me. Wyatt was still in the building. Shit, I would have to go back in there. I snaked around to the front. There were maybe ten to fifteen walkers walking around. I crouched next to the front steps of the school behind a bush, where it looked like I was hidden. I zipped open my North Face backpack. The only thing that I could use to protect me was pepper spray that my Dad made me carry and my tennis racket. I took them both out and swung the backpack over my shoulder. I crept up the stairs and into the building. It was pretty hectic. Everyone was screaming and crying and running.

"Amber!" I heard my name being called and I rose my racket in a defensive position. I spun to see Eliza. Her cheeks were streaked with tears and she ran up to me and hugged me. "Your leg."

I looked down. The back of my leg was soaked in blood.

"Have you seen Wyatt?" I asked quickly. I had no time to waste.

"Yeah. He was in history with me, when it all went down." I hugged her again and crept down the hallway. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I was no hero. I was just a fifteen year old girl from Gullery Heights, West Virginia. I made my way to the freshman history room. It was empty. Great. I turned and walked back down the hallway. I saw Aaron Myers rushing down the hallway past me. I stepped in front of him.

"Have you seen Wyatt?" I asked him.

"Yeah. Follow me." I followed Aaron down the hallway and into one of the science labs. He was sitting on a stool.

"What are you guys doing in here? Wyatt we have to go."

"Were just waiting out the storm."

"Its not a storm. Wyatt, were going home." He shrugged but got up from the stool and followed me outside the door. We crept down the hallway. I heard a scream. One of the walkers had cornered Caroline White.

"Caroline!" Wyatt screamed. He grabbed the tennis racket from my hand and hit the thing on the back of the head. It grunted and turned and grabbed Wyatt's wrist. I charged forward and sprayed it in the eyes with the pepper spray. It was blinded for enough time for me and Wyatt to bolt.

We ran outside. It was too far to try to make it to the elementary school to pick up Ava. She could get home on her own. It was about ten miles to our house, and I had a hurt leg. We couldn't walk the whole way, that wasn't an option. I looked around the parking lot. About ten bikes were in the bike rack and only four of them were chained up. Wyatt and I both grabbed a bike and started peddling like mad men to the road. They were awkwardly fitting, but we didn't have anytime to adjust the seat. It took us about 20 minutes to get home.

We lived in a blue colored house with neighbors on either side. Wyatt and I ditched the bikes outside of the porch and went inside. My mom was sitting inside at the dining room table, with a pistol in her hand. She leaped up.

"Wyatt, Amber!" She croaked as she rushed over to us and embraced us. "Where is Ava?"

"At school." I said. "We thought you were going to pick her up like you always do."

"Well, these aren't exactly normal circumstances." She said placing her hands on her hips. "Come on, lets go."

"Okay. Wyatt grab your baseball bat." I took off my backpack but decided on taking the pepper spray and tennis racket. We followed Mom outside and we all got into her CR-V. She sped down the road and to the Richard Laurence Jr. Elementary school.

"How do we find her?" Wyatt asked as we all got out of the car.

"Okay, does everyone have a watch?" We all nodded. "Great. We split up and search, we'll find her quicker that way. We will meet back here in twenty minutes, no exceptions."

We all went our separate ways. Wyatt and Mom went in the main entrance while I snaked around back. I didn't expect to find her dangling from the monkey bars or swinging but it had to be checked. There were a few Risen wandering around, but nothing too threatening. There didn't seem to be anything back here worth investigating so I went inside the building. I didn't really know the campus that well since they had redone it since I had gone here. The particular door I chose led me to the gym. There was no one in it. Where to go next? Mom and Wyatt had the class rooms covered. I looked at my watch. I still had a little more than ten minutes. There was a sign pointed to the locker rooms, so I followed it.

"Ava?" I whispered, glancing around the hallway. There were two doors, a girl's and a boy's. Even if the world was ending, I doubted that Ava would go into the boy's so I opened the door to the girl's. I whispered her name again as I looked around. Just then I heard an air piercing scream, that sounded suspiciously like a twelve year old girl. The only problem was I had no clue where it was coming from. The gym? I rushed out of the locker room and sure enough, Ava was being cornered by a Risen. I ran at them, tennis racket raised in the hair and came down hard on the walker. When it was on the floor, I kicked it over so its head was facing up.

"Cover your eyes." She did as I told her. I sprayed it in the eyes with the pepper spray and came down hard on its face with my tennis racket again and again. Blood squirted off the Risen as I crushed its facial structure. My tennis racket was ruined but I guess it was a price to pay for a sister.

"Are you okay? Were you bitten?" I asked quickly. I admit that I wasn't sure that that was how the infection was transmitted but from what movies and TV shows that I have seen it was an okay guess.

"I'm fine." Ava announced. She rushed into my arms. "Thank you for saving us."

"Lets go." I said, making my way to the back door of the made a break for the car, rushing across the playground and into the parking lot. Wyatt and Mom were already back and were both in the car. I noticed that Wyatt took the front seat, just great. Mom opened the car door and rushed towards us. I would think that she would hug me, considering I just risked my life numerous times to save Ava. No, she hugged Ava nice and tight. Maybe the reason she didn't hug me was because I was covered with a thin layer of blood and zombie flesh.

We all got into the CR-V and drove home.

We arrived home in only fifteen minutes. We all got out. By now, it was about seven. Mom made Mac + Cheese for dinner and we all went to bed.


End file.
